To all Residents and their Families,
On Tuesday June 30th we received much awaited news by our Provincial Health Officer and the Minister of Health that residents in Long Term Care will be allowed to receive a visitor for the first time since COVID-19 protocols were put into place in March. Since then we have received additional details from the governing body around who can visit and when they can expect their first visit.
Each resident will be able to designate one single visitor who may enter the Village in a designated space. Prior to this visitation being allowed each Village is required to submit a written plan in conjunction with local medical and environmental health officers. A policy memo that we received from Interior Health estimates that this process is expected to take one week to ten days which means that residents should expect to see their first guests in the middle of July.
Once we receive approval from our governing bodies, we will send out communication to residents and families who will be able to schedule visits in advance. Each individual visitor will be carefully screened upon arrival and will be required to bring personal protective equipment (PPE), our staff will train them on its use in our space. Once properly screened, with proper PPE on, they will be guided to the designated space where they can visit with their family member in person for their scheduled time.
This is great news for our residents and means that within this month we will be able to schedule visits for the first time since the COVID-19 protocols and protections have been put in place. We look forward to opening our doors to our families in a safe way and will send out communications as each Village is approved over the coming weeks.
Sincerely,
Celeste Mullin
Vice President